Another brother, Paul F. Karns served during WW II as well. Private First Class Karns worked with the Combat Engineer Battalion, 2755th Engineers, Company A, Engineer Boat Regiment, 5th Army, in Italy (service # 33179539). He enlisted 3 April 1942 at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, and was in the U.S. through 5 August 1942, and 15 September 1945 through 20 September 1945, Indiantown Gap Military Reservation, Pennsylvania. He served overseas from 6 August 1942 through 14 September 1945. On detached duty to the 270th Infantry, Company A was at Puttelange, France, in February 1945. On 16 September 1944, Company A, commanded by Lt. Graves, supported the7th Army at Camel Beach, St. Raphael, France, with River Crossing Equipment. On 18 September 1944, the unit provided four boats in two landings to help with construction of a railroad bridge across the Doube River near Dole, France. Picture above.

ADAMS, DONAH LEE, Staff Sergeant, # 6955676, USAAF

Donah L. Adams was born 22 December 1918 in Lesley, Hall County, Texas, to Walter Franklin Adams (1883-1964) and Carrie Lee (Bailey) Adams (1884-1967). His parents were born in Georgia. Siblings include a brother, Willis Roy Adams (1911-1993) and two sisters, Nell Ruth Adams (1915-2009) and Annie B. Adams (1925- ). On 25 January 1944, a B-24D, # 42-73242, “Haley’s Comet” (named after Lt Roger F. Haley) (converted to ferry passengers and cargo), upon which SSgt Adams was a gunner, departed Chabua, India, at 7:40 a.m., to fly to Kunming, China. It was assigned to the 425th Bomb Squadron of the 308th Bomb Group. At 10:45 a.m., the formation of five B-24Ds “was forced to break up due to extreme instrument weather conditions.” All five aircraft crashed; B-24D, # 41-23889, crashed near Jorhat, Arunachal Pradesh, India. Crews parachuted from two and a third, which crashed, had two survivors. The fourth and fifth, “Hot as Hell” and “Haley’s Comet,” disappeared, the crews presumed dead (Tara Copp, Stars & Stripes, 8 Apr 2016). Haley’s Comet was found eventually. The bomber was mentioned in China Up and Down by John T. Foster. He was awarded an Air Medal. He is remembered on the memorial Monument to Aviation Martyrs, Nanjing Memorial, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China, the Manila American Cemetery & Memorial, Philippines, the family marker, Moore Cemetery, Arlington, Tarrant Co., Texas.